LaHood and Cummings To Speak At Marine Highways Conference

JOC Staff |
NEWARK, N.J., Feb. 4 -- U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Congressman Elijah Cummings will top an outstanding lineup of speakers at the seventh annual Journal of Commerce North American Marine Highways and Logistics Conference, April 6-7, 2011 at the Conference Center at the Maritime Institute near Baltimore, Md.

Ray LaHood is the leading advocate for marine highways in the Obama Administration. Rep. Cummings is chairman of the House Transportation Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation and sponsor of legislation to exempt marine highways operations from the Harbor Maintenance Tax.

“These senior officials are part of the best group of speakers we’ve had since we began presenting the Marine Highways Conference,” said Peter M. Tirschwell, senior vice president of UBM Global Trade, publisher of The Journal of Commerce. “This conference will give shippers and supply chain professionals a thorough view of the challenges and opportunities ahead for the marine highways.”

Marine highways are about taking freight that’s traditionally carried by road or rail and moving it instead by water -- along East and West coasts, the Gulf of Mexico, the inland waterways and the Great Lakes. The marine highways can offer shippers an alternative to congested highways and the opportunity to build cost-effective and sustainable supply chains.

In addition to Secretary LaHood and Congressman Cummings, the list of confirmed speakers includes:

Mary E. Peters, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation and Director of the Arizona Department of Transportation.
Mortimer L. Downey, Senior Advisor, Parsons-Brinkerhoff Consult, Inc. and former USDOT deputy secretary.
David Matsuda, Administrator, U.S. Maritime Administration.
Larry L. 'Butch' Brown, Executive Director, Mississippi Department of Transportation and President, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
J.J. Keever, Senior Deputy Executive Director, Virginia Port Authority
Hank Hoffman, President and CEO, Seabridge Freight
Ed Whitmore, President, Norfolk Tug Company (64Express)
Jonathan D. Kaskin, Director, U.S. Navy Office of Strategic Mobility and Combat Logistics
Frederick J. Harris, President, General Dynamics NASSCO
The JOC North American Marine Highways & Logistics Conference is sponsored by the U.S. Maritime Administration, General Dynamics NASSCO, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the I-95 Corridor Coalition and the Conference Center at the Maritime Center.

For more information and registration, visit www.joc.com/conferences.

Since 1827, The Journal of Commerce has been the most trusted source of intelligence for international logistics executives to help them plan global supply chains and better manage day-to-day transportation of goods and commodities in the United States and internationally. To become a member of The Journal of Commerce click here. JOC members have access to the weekly print and digital magazine, Web site and a 10% discount on all JOC Conferences and trade shows, UBM Global Trade Directories and select PIERS products.

About UBM Global Trade: UBM Global Trade, formerly Commonwealth Business Media, Inc., has been the leading provider of proprietary data, news, business intelligence and analytical content supporting commercial maritime, rail, trucking, warehousing and logistics industries worldwide since 1827. The company's portfolio of more than 100 online, print and interactive workflow business solutions includes The Journal of Commerce, The Journal of Commerce Conferences, PIERS Global Intelligence Solutions and an array of international trade and transportation databases and directories. UBM Global Trade, a subsidiary of United Business Media Limited, is headquartered in East Windsor, NJ, with offices throughout the United States and in Canada and Hong Kong. For more information, explore www.ubmglobaltrade.com or call 800-221-5488 (+1-609-371-7700 outside the U.S. and Canada).

About United Business Media Limited: UBM (UBM.L) focuses on two principal activities: worldwide information distribution, targeting and monitoring, and the development and monetization of B2B communities and markets. UBM's businesses inform markets and serve professional commercial communities -- from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewelry traders, from farmers to pharmacists -- with integrated events, online, print and business information products. Our 6,500 staff in more than 30 countries is organized into specialist teams that serve these communities, bringing buyers and sellers together, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently. For more information, go to www.ubm.com.

CONTACT: Bob Edmonson, Associate Editor, The Journal of Commerce, +1- 202-355-1143, bedmonson@joc.com.